Time seemed to slow at that moment.
When the purple lightning rising against the fall slammed head-on into the floating island that covered the sky, the whole world went silent.
There was only one blinding beam of light.
It was a purple beam. It stretched from Aiden's hand on the ground and pierced straight into the rock base of the huge island without any resistance!
Then the delayed roar came, loud enough to shake the soul.
"Bwoooom!!!!"
The air screamed, and even space seemed to shake!
The once indestructible base of the floating island was cut open with ease by the blade wrapped in Armament Haki and high-voltage lightning!
The sword in Aiden's hand also let out a cry under the strain. The blade turned red and even started to crack.
But he did not care.
He just kept staring at the darkness pressing down from above, his eyes burning with madness.
"Open up for me!!!"
With a loud shout, the muscles in Aiden's arms swelled little by little. The lightning instantly overloaded and exploded with a brightness as strong as the sun!
"Zzt—Boom!!!"
That line of purple light instantly turned into a giant slash thousands of meters long!
It cut through rock, soil, forest, and even the clouds and air above the island!
This strike split the sky!
"Crack!!!!"
A terrifying sound exploded high in the sky, like the world itself breaking apart.
As Gion's pupils shrank, the huge island that blocked out the sun actually stopped for a moment in midair.
Then.
A huge crack spread from the bottom of the island all the way to the top.
The massive island, which had been whole just a moment ago, was split in half along that purple line of light!
Tens of thousands of rocks, soil, and trees attached to them were split in two by this one slash!
Countless house-sized boulders were crushed into powder at the break. Dust filled the sky like a sandstorm and blocked everything from view.
This was not power a human should have.
It was pure strength and Haki unleashed, enough to split a mountain apart!
"Rumble—!!!"
The two halves of the island lost their balance. Carrying destructive force, they crashed into the deep jungle on both sides of Merveille.
The ground shook wildly, as if a magnitude ten earthquake had struck.
Countless towering trees were snapped in half. Dust shot into the sky and formed two huge mushroom clouds.
In the rain of broken rocks falling from the sky,
a purple flash of lightning did not stay in the air for show. Instead, it flashed back to the ground next to Gion at once.
"Watch out!"
Gion was just about to draw her sword to deal with the falling rocks that looked like meteors.
Suddenly, her vision blurred.
A tall figure wrapped in thunder instantly moved in front of her.
"Zzt."
Facing a giant rock as big as a house crashing down with huge force, he did not even look back. He only reversed his grip on the sword at his waist.
"In the way," he said coldly.
"Clang—!"
A flash of sword light.
The giant rock, big enough to crush both of them into pulp, shattered into countless pieces in midair.
Then dense blue electric arcs burst out from Aiden's body and spread out like a fine lightning net.
"Zzt, zzt, zzt."
The shattered rocks and dust were crushed and vaporized by the high-temperature current the moment they touched the net.
Gion looked at Aiden's back.
His coat snapped loudly in the wind. Aiden's back seemed to block out the dust and destruction in the sky.
Although, as a Rear Admiral of Navy Headquarters, she did not need this kind of protection. She could have crushed those rocks with one swing.
But.
Looking at Aiden moving without hesitation to protect her, Gion's hand on her sword hilt tightened slightly.
Her heart skipped a beat.
"Hey, why are you spacing out?"
Aiden turned his head to look at Gion with a small smile. "I know I'm handsome, but this isn't the time to get distracted."
Gion's cheeks turned slightly red. Being seen through made her want to argue at once. She took a deep breath, forced herself back to her usual calm, and shot him an annoyed look. "Stop being so full of yourself! I was just checking if your attack was going to bury us alive!"
Even though she said that, the hand holding her sword was shaking slightly.
"Rumble—"
The vibrations around them finally settled.
The remains of the two island halves had completely crashed into the ground. The dust they threw up covered the entire center of Merveille. The air was thick with the smell of sulfur and dirt.
Looking at the split island and the mountain-like wreckage nearby, Gion finally realized how strange all of this was.
"Why is an island falling from the sky?"
She muttered in disbelief, her voice full of confusion. "What kind of power can make an island fly in the sky?!"
"Clap, clap, clap."
Sudden, clear clapping came down from high above. It cut through the loud rumbling and sounded as if it were right next to her ear.
Along with the clapping came a laugh full of madness and dominance.
"Jihahahaha—!!"
"What a wonderful slash!"
Even though his tone was still arrogant, there was real surprise in his voice. Clearly, even for this legend of the old era, that slash was no small thing.
Whoosh—
An invisible pressure dropped from the sky and forcibly blew away the dust.
That was Conqueror's Haki!
Gion's face suddenly turned pale.
As a Rear Admiral of Navy Headquarters, she had seen many big scenes before, but the aura coming from above made her physically uncomfortable.
It felt like crushing pressure, the killing intent of a man who had survived countless battles, and the madness of someone who had once tried to destroy the world!
"This pressure..." Gion's palms were already covered in sweat.
The clouds cleared completely.
A figure floated in the air without any support and slowly descended.
He wore a wide yellow-and-black striped kimono that fluttered wildly in the gale. Golden hair like a lion's mane fell to his waist and moved in the wind.
A burning cigar hung from his mouth. Through the smoke, his eyes looked down at the two people below.
What stood out the most were his legs.
Below the knees, there were no feet, only two sharp famous swords, Oto and Kogarashi.
And there was also that steering wheel deeply stuck in his head, as if it had fused with his skull.
The Flying Pirate, Golden Lion Shiki!
Even with a damaged body, even though he had only escaped from Impel Down a month ago, even though he looked travel-worn and even a little miserable...
the moment he appeared, the center of the world seemed to shift to him. The air around them grew heavy just from his presence.
This was the man who had once pushed Pirate King Roger to the limit and single-handedly destroyed half of Marineford!
Shiki did not attack right away.
He floated dozens of meters away from Aiden and let out a thick ring of smoke. His sharp eyes, like a hawk's, slowly looked Aiden up and down.
His gaze paused for a moment on the smoking sword in Aiden's hand, then moved to the electric arcs still crackling around him.
"Such pure Armament Haki. To cut my island with one strike..."
Shiki grinned and showed his white teeth. Surprise and admiration flashed in his eyes. "Brat, your Haki is well trained. This feeling... it reminds me of that damn old fool Garp. After Roger died, someone like you actually appeared on this sea."
Even though Shiki was praising him, the arrogance in his tone did not change.
In his eyes, that slash was impressive, but it only meant Aiden was finally worth noticing.
Aiden looked at Shiki without any fear.
Instead, his whole body was burning with excitement.
It was the instinct of a hunter seeing a top target.
"You flatter me."
Aiden held his sword in one hand, with the tip resting toward the ground. Faint electric arcs still coiled around him, ready to burst out at any time.
He looked up at Shiki and sneered, showing no sign of backing down. "I also didn't expect the Flying Pirate who once dared to charge into Marineford alone to end up this pathetic."
Aiden looked at Shiki like he was looking at a loser. "What are you doing hidden away on an island in some corner, Shiki? Waiting to die alone?"
The smile on Shiki's face stiffened slightly.
Below, Gion was terrified. Was this guy trying to provoke Shiki on purpose?! That was a monster who stood on the same level as Roger and Whitebeard!
"Jihahahaha!!"
Shiki froze for a moment, then burst into even louder laughter, almost to the point of tears.
He waved his hand, making his kimono sleeve snap loudly. "Your tongue is even sharper than that bastard Roger! Young people these days are really interesting!"
He was not angry. Instead, he looked at Aiden with even more interest. He spread his arms wide, as if inviting him in. "Hey, brat! I've taken a liking to you!"
"Even though you're a marine, that aura on you, that greed, that arrogance, that urge to cut everything down, you can't hide it! Someone like you won't last in a place like the Navy, playing at rules and justice!"
Shiki reached one hand out toward Aiden, his eyes burning. "Come be my right-hand man!"
"Roger is dead. That bastard started the so-called Great Pirate Era and turned this sea into a trash heap. I hate a sea like this!"
"As long as we join hands..."
Shiki pointed at Merveille below, his eyes full of madness and ambition. "We will destroy this boring world! We will make this sea crawl under our feet again! That is what a man should do!"
At that moment, Shiki looked like the Flying Pirate who had once commanded a massive fleet.
If it were a normal marine or pirate facing an offer from a legendary figure, they would have wavered long ago.
However.
The only answer he got was a scoff.
"Pfft."
Aiden shook his head as if he had just heard a joke. He even picked at his ear with his pinky.
"Destroy the world? Rule the sea?"
Aiden looked at Shiki with pity. "Old lion, did prison rot your brain?"
"The era has changed."
Aiden raised his sword and pointed it at Shiki. "Are you, a cripple with no legs and a piece of rotten wood in your head, still dreaming the same old dream?"
"Wake up."
Aiden's voice was cold and sharp. Every word hit Shiki right in his pride. "Your era ended long ago in the storm of Edd War."
"Now, you are nothing but embers of the old era."
"Not only will I never become your subordinate..."
The lightning around Aiden suddenly flared up, lighting up the dark sky. "I'll take your head and use it as a stepping stone to reach the top."
Silence.
For a moment, the only sound left was the waves hitting the shore.
The smile on Shiki's face vanished completely.
The admiration and interest in his eyes were gone. All that was left was killing intent.
Veins bulged on his forehead. Conqueror's Haki crackled around him like black lightning, and even the air around him began to shake.
"A stepping stone...?"
Shiki repeated those words, his voice low and cold.
"Fine. Very well!"
"Since you're in such a hurry to die, I'll grant your wish!"
Shiki raised his right hand toward the sea below.
"Rumble—!!!!"
The sea churned, and the ground shook!
The two huge island halves that Aiden had cut apart suddenly rose into the air again!
These were islands Shiki had already moved himself. Every inch of rock was already under the control of his fruit power. Now, those broken mountains moved again under his command.
Countless boulders gathered, shifted, and pressed together in the air. In the blink of an eye, they turned into three rock lions hundreds of meters tall!
With deafening grinding sounds, they opened their mouths and lunged at Aiden from three directions in the air!
This was the true power of the Float-Float Fruit!
Even if something was cut apart or reduced to ruins, as long as it was under his control, everything could become a weapon!
Before power like this, human strength looked tiny.
Below, Gion's face changed sharply. If she had been the one forced to block an attack on this scale, it would have been extremely difficult.
"Comparing size?"
Facing the overwhelming rock beasts, Aiden moved forward instead of back.
"Zzt, zzt, zzt."
He turned into a pillar of lightning and shot into the sky, meeting the largest rock lion head-on.
A mass of lightning gathered in the sky and took shape at an incredible speed. Wrapped in heat of thousands of degrees, it slammed into the rock lion!
"Boom!!!!"
The collision caused a huge explosion.
The high heat melted through the rock in an instant!
The lightning tore through the lion's head and turned it into powder!
Rocks fell like rain, smashing into the sea and sending up countless pillars of water.
In the middle of the dust,
Aiden's body reformed. From a hundred meters away, he faced Shiki again.
"The Rumble-Rumble Fruit..."
Shiki narrowed his eyes as he looked at the young man wrapped in lightning. His voice turned cold. "No wonder you're so arrogant. A Logia user. But fruit powers alone won't beat me!"
Aiden shook his slightly numb wrist. Although he had crushed the rocks, he could clearly feel that they had been covered in a very strong layer of Armament Haki.
This old man really was tough.
"The warm-up is over."
Aiden gripped his sword hilt again. Fighting spirit burned in his eyes as lightning gathered wildly toward the blade. "Now let's get serious."
To Be Continued